WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) today announced the availability of three different levels of technical assistance through the COPS Office’s expanded Collaborative Reform Initiative (CRI).

Today’s announcement follows the announcement last spring, by Attorney General Merrick Garland and Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta, that the Collaborative Reform Initiative would be expanded (https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-expansion-technical-assistance-services-offered-law-enforcement). The COPS Office then opened solicitations for experienced service providers to reestablish the initiative’s Critical Response and Organizational Assessment programs. COPS has now selected service providers for both programs.

The revamped Collaborative Reform Initiative now offers a full continuum of technical assistance to state, local, territorial, campus and tribal law enforcement agencies through three levels of technical assistance. The program is designed to build trust between law enforcement agencies and the communities they serve; improve operational efficiencies and effectiveness; enhance officer safety and wellness; and promote community policing practices nationwide. This is the first time in history that the COPS Office is managing and providing these levels of assistance at the same time:

• Training and technical assistance will continue to be offered through the popular Collaborative Reform Initiative Technical Assistance Center (CRI-TAC). Led and supported by nine leading law enforcement stakeholder associations, CRI-TAC provides a wide array of technical assistance services using a “by the field, for the field” approach. Since its inception in 2017, the program has provided technical assistance to over 800 law enforcement agencies nationwide.
• The Critical Response program is designed to provide targeted technical assistance to law enforcement agencies experiencing high-profile events, major incidents, or sensitive issues of varying need. Technical assistance can include after-action reviews, targeted assistance in the wake of a critical incident, peer-to-peer exchanges, and facilitated discussions with subject matter experts.
• The Organizational Assessment program offers the most intensive form of technical assistance on the continuum, involving in-depth assessments and long-term assistance on systemic issues that can challenge community trust and confidence. These engagements are the most comprehensive and can often take the most time.

“Providing high-quality technical assistance to law enforcement agencies in need has always been a hallmark of the COPS Office, and today’s announcement represents an important addition to the many services we offer,” said Hugh T. Clements, Jr., Director of the COPS Office. “The men and women who work every day to keep our communities safe deserve every resource we have to offer, and I know agencies, supporting their communities across the country, will benefit from these expanded new offerings.”

Law enforcement agencies are encouraged to learn more about each program and submit a request for this no-cost resource by going to https://cops.usdoj.gov/collaborativereform and clicking on “submit request for assistance.”

The COPS Office is the federal component of the Department of Justice responsible for advancing community policing nationwide. The only Department of Justice agency with policing in its name, the COPS Office was established in 1994 and has been the cornerstone of the nation’s crime fighting strategy with grants, a variety of knowledge resource products, and training and technical assistance. Through the years, the COPS Office has become the go-to organization for law enforcement agencies across the country and continues to listen to the field and provide the resources that are needed to reduce crime and build trust between law enforcement and the communities served. The COPS Office has been appropriated more than $20 billion to advance community policing, including grants awarded to over 13,000 state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies to fund the hiring and redeployment of more than 136,000 officers.

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